I only wish that I will have half the courage as you do to speak out on a public platform for the support of the freedom to love, and standing up for equality of people. I apologize, on behalf of my Muslim brothers and sisters, that you have to face such unjustified backlash, laden with bigoted, harsh criticisms which largely rest upon their blind reliance on faith — without considering that you too, are a Muslim, with your own unique beliefs and ways.
I have to be perfectly honest here, clicking the PinkDotSG video link, I didn’t expect to see a hijab-donning Muslim (in the first 10 seconds too!) openly supporting the movement, much less the acceptance of LGBT people in Singapore. Knowing well that the loud and vocal minority of Muslims who will do whatever it takes to condemn homosexuality, I worried that you will have to put up with the furor from the conservative anti-gay groups here in Singapore. And true enough, the backlash came in swift, and I watched, disgusted that you bear the runt for a deep-seated prejudice inherent in these vocal oppositions.
You do not deserve to be berated for just merely expressing your beliefs. You do not deserve to have your name thrown around as a tool in a pursuit of progressing the agenda of the anti-gay community here. If you are reading this, I just want to let you know that your bravery, while not unprecedented, inspire me tremendously and speaks a lot about the state of progressive Islam in this country. You and me, and thousands of other young Muslims are in your support, we are behind you. The fact that you made the choice, out of your own conscience and guided by your moral compass, is a heroic one. You are a gem, in the sea of charcoal, Ms Sadarli.
Many of the comments directed towards you, whether on the R1C site, on Facebook or even on the PinkDot promo video itself make me feel embarrassed as a Muslim. They do not understand that you are not a deviant of Islam, and that their resounding criticism itself is contrary to the peace-loving message Islam stands up for. They are not able to comprehend that other than you, a good number of progressive Muslims are increasingly showing support for things they claim to be ‘heretic’. Do not let the vocal few bring you down, and I am pretty sure that these vocal few, and through the ever prevalent Streisand Effect, have just shed more light on this event (there’s no such thing as bad press) and bring people closer together, strengthening the support for the event and the freedom to love.
You have inspired me, and in that capacity, you have inspired many others who are shy in supporting the freedom to love, to come out and support it fervently. I hope that you continue sticking to your principles and that you will not be wavered by the tough times ahead. Your name carries a weight now, and this weight will, Insya Allah, open the hearts of the narrow-minded to see that the true word of God – is to love, despite differences, and to accept, despite deviations.
There’s something we need to confess to you. We, straight Muslims, do not hate you. In fact, we have never hated you. True, we may seem aggressive with our acts of eradicating LGBTQ from the society but it’s not because we hate you.
So my dear brothers and sisters, how can homosexuality ever be acceptable in Islam?
Allah’s wisdom is so great that nothing can surpass it. We’re always talking about hijab. That’s why we even need to hijab when we’re in the same room with the same gender. Both men’s and women’s aurah when in front of the same gender are from the navel to the knees (knees included). We cannot be naked in front of anyone, except for your halal wife/husband. That’s the beauty of marriage. MasyaAllah. How much details Allah SWT has put into the rules and guidelines for us to live our daily lives and not even a single loophole in Islam.
Allah SWT even forbid us from cross-dressing. A lady can’t dress like a guy and a guy can’t dress like a lady. Even if a guy wears the headscarf just for sake of fun, it is haram. SubhanAllah. How strict our Lord is when it comes to this.
Again my homosexual brothers and sisters, we’re not against you. We will never humiliate you. Those who humiliate you are not one of us. We are here to give constant reminders to you. It may be hurtful going through the process of purification. No doubt, it will be very very hard to contain those urges and desires. But just think of your parents, if not for them, you’ll not see the world. You need both mother’s and father’s love and attention. You know both of them play very different roles. Can you imagine yourself being brought up by same sex parents? And knowing that you’re either adopted or your birth isn’t normal? Not knowing who’s your real parents or who your dad is? If you can’t imagine, then please spare the emotional torture from your future child(ren). Plus, you know how important breastfeeding is to newborn. How can you have the heart depriving a newborn of the best nutrition?
Allah is great. He wants to protect us. Have we not read of the statistic that proportionally, more homosexuals are infected by HIV than heterosexuals? Can’t you see how much Allah SWT, the One who created you, loves you? He knows you more than you know yourself. He forbids homosexuality as He knows how much detrimental effects it will bring to you, to the community.
It’s not too late, my dear brothers and sister. You may have a very dark past. You may feel that your sin is too big for Allah SWT to forgive. But know that the only sin that Allah SWT won’t forgive is syirk (associating partners to Allah SWT). Allah SWT says in the Qur’an:
“Allah says: “O My servants who have transgressed against their souls, do not despair of Allah’s mercy, for Allah forgives all sins. It is He Who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.” (al-Quran 39:53)
Remember that whenever you wanna repent and there’s something inside you saying that you’re not deserving of Allah’s forgiveness, that’s not your voice. That’s syaitan who’s whispering into your ears. You’re better than syaitan and iblis. Know that while you’re struggling to stop loving the same gender, there’s also a straight person who’s struggling not to be in a haram relationship.
I know this post may not change you, but my only hope is that for you to keep seeking the truth. My only advise is that to not miss any prayers. I remembered at one point of time how far I was from Allah SWT, but I keep telling myself that I should never miss any prayers. How difficult it was to find the time or place to pray, I still struggled hard to stop making excuses for myself. At that moment, I didn’t know what actions will make Allah SWT happy, but I knew the things that Allah SWT hated. So I tried my best to refrain from doing things that brought pleasure to me, but hatred to Allah SWT.
If you always club, drink, smoke, have promiscuous sex, or any sinful acts, avoid it one by one. No one is asking you to change drastically. For drastic change will bear drastic impact. If you can handle the drastic impact, then Alhamdulillah for you. If not, then do it one at a time. What’s most important is that you have the intention to change, only for the One. Keep making do’a to the Lord of the universe. Know that if He can control the entire universe, controlling your heart is just a small matter. Just ask for it. He doesn’t need you to survive, you need Him to survive.
Life is just a challenge. Everyone has their own challenges. If you think your challenge is the biggest, know that there’s someone else in this world who’s struggling to live; no food, no place to sleep, no parents, don’t know if tomorrow a bullet gonna pierce through his/her head.
You can be the happiest person. You don’t need a human’s love to make you feel complete. All you need is Allah SWT’s and Rasulullah SAW’s love. To have your halal spouse to love you, is a bonus. You choose your own happiness.
“A happy person once said: “The beautiful day is the day on which we have control of our affairs and our affairs do not control us. It is the day on which we control our desires and we are not controlled by them like slaves.”” (extracted from the book ‘You Can Be The Happiest Women In The World’)
Last not but not least, be friends with those who love Allah SWT. Be in the environment that gives you the positive vibe. Know that if someone loves Allah SWT, it doesn’t only come from the heart. If someone truly and sincerely loves Him, from the heart it will automatically show through from one’s appearance and actions. Be with those who truly and sincerely love Him.
How contradictory and hurtful it may sound, but know that those who support your sinful acts are actually the one who don’t love you. Those who stop and acknowledge you are the ones who truly love you. Life is temporary and we don’t want you to live “happily” only for a short period of time. We want you to be happy forever, now and till the Hereafter. InsyaAllah.
May Allah SWT guide us always and never make us go astray.
Today when I was out, I approached Muslim strangers and Muslim neighbours asking them if they know about the WEAR WHITE Movement by Muslim community.
Surprisingly, they are not aware. So I took some time to talk to them and explained and showed them the WearWhite FB page and also the website urging them all to show solidarity and all unite on that day!
They copied the FB and website links to their phones and promised to unite to participate!
So dear ALL friends, regardless of race language or religion, please make an effort to Go Out and Reach Out to the community and Share and spread the message to UNITE ! Thank you !
This is a response to the recent posting made by Azman Ivan Tan who asserted that homosexuals are “delusional”.
Sexual identity and religion are sensitive and contradictory issues in Singapore. Only a few are willing to discuss them open-mindedly. Most are likely to say that having a different sexual preference is a perversion of religion and a betrayal of human nature or social norms.
The strict adherence to the varied messages that can be taken from the Quran, and the staunch opposition to homosexuality that exists within the Islamic faith, form the foundation of many of the issues that LGBT Muslims face.
But there are still some in the Muslim community who feel that homosexuality is a “delusion”, a “mental illness” or a “phenomenon”, and who stress an avoidance of one’s homosexual desires in an effort to keep in line with their Islamic beliefs. Fellow Muslim brothers Azman Ivan Tan and Ustaz Noor Deros who started this Wear White Movement have clearly illustrated this in the most unpalatable way.
The notion of being gay and Muslim at the same time is very tough when we see how stereotypical views about gay people are still present in our society. Most people grossly conflate gayness with pedophilia, promiscuity, social pathology and other stigmas.
It is therefore imperative to foster dialogue between religious groups and gay communities to bridge the difference. Instead of renouncing gay people as deviant, religious groups should embrace them and learn how to synchronize their situation with Islam.
Gay people, therefore, need to explain their situations sincerely by either coming out in public when they are ready for it, or feeling comfortable with their personal state before expecting society to understand them.
In fact, two-way communication to bring different perspectives about sexual identity and to convey the message that it is a fluid concept should be encouraged in order to create commonalities among components of society.
The stigma still exists. It will take time to change that.
I spent some time reading the posts on a gay group. Sadly I am beginning to realize…
They are all delusional. They have perverted sense of what is right. They all have this mentality that their “love” is bigger than EVERYTHING else in this world. They really sound like very very depressed people. I think one of the reasons why they are doing this lifestyle is to escape from reality.
They are in fact empty inside. Their hearts do not really feel much. The pain they have in them. The feeling of incompleteness. The feeling that everyone is against them. They are just looking for escapes. Like a addict is looking for the fix.
Maybe they really need to be more TRUTHFUL to themselves. What really are they for on this earth? Do they think they are invincible and will live forever?
They are “supporting” each other to ensure they have people around they who are homosexuals. If they don’t have, they are lost.
My advise to those of you homosexuals reading this, think about the moment when you are about to die. Were you truthful to yourself? Did you really seek the truth? Or were you just finding the escape so that you can make yourselves have the moment of feeling fulfilled? The fulfillment is artificial and does not last. You know it yourselves. Why torture yourselves?
The divide between the LGBT and WearWhite camps are getting more obvious. Increasing tensions felt between the two groups.
Are you supporting the Freedom to Love or are you supporting the Traditional Values of Marriage and Family? Which side are you on? Share your opinion with us at Rilek1Corner.
